Lantern stand



H. B. AHARA LANTERN STAND Aug. 10, 1965 Filed May 25, 1964 INVENTOR. HOWARD B. Ali/IRA United States Patent sasasis Howard B. Ahara, 76 -3 Shadow Mountain Road, Phoenix, riz. Filed May 25', EM, Ser. No. 359,925 6 (1. 248156) The present invention pertains to lantern stands, and more particularly, to lantern stands of the type that may be used as part of camping equipment and may conveniently be disassembled to be transported when not in use.

Camping equipment, to be considered effective, must satisfy several criteria. The requirements include portability, light weight, ruggedness, resistance to corrosion or deterioration from wear and tear in the outdoors, and dependability. It has previously been customary for campers to place lanterns on improvised stands, or hang the lanterns from a tree limb, etc. Recently, with the advent of greater numbers of campers, the necessity for a suitable lantern stand has increased. The requirements for a lantern stand include the requirements set forth above; however, prior art lantern stands have failed in many regards especially in the area of portability, and ruggedness.

Accordingy, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lantern stand that may readily be disassembled and transported.

it is another object of the present invention to provide a lantern stand that is lightweight and is nevertheless inexpensive to manufacture.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a lantern stand that is of adjustable height and which has a locking device that is efiective and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the at as the description thereof proceeds. The description will be given in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

PEG. 1 is a perspective view of a lantern stand constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the lantern standof FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a modification of the lantern stand of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, a lantern stand and locking device constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention are shown. A stake 16 is provided for anchoring the lantern stand into the ground. The stake includes a tip 11 that may be more or less pointed to facilitate driving the stake into the ground. Since the stake it is to slide within a tubular member, it may be desirable to provide a portion 12 of decreased diamet r at the top of the stake so that when the stake is being driven into the ground, upsetting of the top of the stake will not interfere with the sta l; s insertion into a tubular member.

Tubular member 15 is provided with an inside diameter suihcient to slide over the stake all and to be supported in an erect position thereby. T he end of the tubular member 15 remote from the ground is cut at an angle 6 relative to the axis of the tubular member 15. The reason for the angular relationship of the end of the tubular member will become apparent as the description proceeds. A support member it), which may be formed from any suitable material including tubular material having.

a smaller diameter han the tubular member 15, is arranged having a curved portion 21 at one end thereof. The opposite end 22 of the support member 25) is relatively straight and is intended for insertion into the tubular member 15. The support member 29 is thus slidably mounted within the tubular member 15, and may be "Ice moved upwardly or downwardly while being supported in an erect position by the tubular member. The support member also includes a hook means 25 which may take the form of a simple bolt or metal protrusion extending through the tip of the curved portion 21 in a generally upward direction. The hook means provides a means for holding the wire handle 3%) of a conventional camping lantern 31. The hook means may take the form of a spring clip 32 of the type shown in FIG. 4 which may be particularly useful when the device of the present invention is to be used on a boat such as by clamping the tubular member to the boat in any convenient manner. The spring clip may be attached to the curved portion 21 by means of a wire stirrup 33, or the like. The spring clip 32 has a closure member 34 which must be pressed to permit the wire handle 39 of a lantern 31 to be inserted in the spring clip 32. After insertion of the wire handle 31, the closure member 34 prevents removal of the lantern from the spring clip unless the closure member 34 is intentionally depressed. The modification shown in FIG. 4 securely holds the lantern even though the boat may toss and sway. A reflector 35, made of polished metal, may be mounted on the support member by the use of a metal clip 36 riveted to the reflector. The refiector may be positioned relative to the lantern to refiect the lanterns light in a particular desired direction.

A locking device 49 is provided to secure the support member against vertical downward movement relative to the tubular member. The locking device includes metal washers 41 and 42 having an inside diameter sufficient to conveniently slide on the support member 26), but less than the outside diameter of the tubular member. Thus, when the washers 41 and 42 are held in a position relatively perpendicular to the axis of the support member, the support member may be moved upwardly or downwardly within the tubular member 15. However, when the washers 41 and 42 are permitted to abutt the end 16 of the tubular member, the fact that the end of the tubular member is cut at an angle 0 forces the washers to assume a skew position relative to the axis of the support member. The skew position causes the washers 41 and 42 to grip the support member and prevent the support member from moving downwardly further into the tubular member. A resilient washer 45 separates the metal washers 41 and 42 and greatly adds to the ability of the locking device to lock the support member against downward movement relative to the tubular member. When the locking device is in its locking position (i.e., when washer 42 is in contact with the end 16 of tubular mem ber 15), the position assumed by the washer 42 is transmitted to the washer 41 so that the latter also assumes a locking position. It the support member is inadvertently jarred, or struck by a hard object, the transient forces transmitted through the support member to the tubular member tend to cause the Washer 42 to momentarily change its attitude relative to the support member and thus loose its grip thereon. The support member, carrying a weight such as a lantern, will thus normally temporarily drop into the tubular member a short distance until the washer 4-2 reassumes its locking position. When the lantern stand is used under conditions where it is likely to encounter jarring forces, or even such forces as those caused by a wind rocking the lantern, the support member will evidentially work its way into the tubular member until the lantern being supported by the lantern stand is no longer at a usable height. Accordingly, the resilient washer 45 prevents the temporary unlocking positioning of the locking device by maintaining a constant force on the washer 41 even though transient forces such as vibrations attempt to reposition the washers 41 and 42 to cause them to lose their grip on the support member. The resilient member also becomesdefornied when the washers 41 and 42 assume their locking positions, and the deformation forces part of the resilient material into the crevices between the support member and the washers to further add to the stability of the locking device. The eifect of the resilient member on each of the washers 41 and 42 separately, as well as in combination, greatly enhances the ability of either of the washers to firmly hold the support member against downward movement relative to the tubular member.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

I claim:

1. A lantern stand comprising:

(a) a stake to be driven partially into the ground,

(b) a tubular member adapted to slide over said stake to the extent said stake protrudes above ground; the end of said tubular member remote from the ground being cut at an angle to the axis of said tubular mem- (c) a support member slidably mounted within said tubular member,

(d) a locking means slidably mounted'on said support member for engaging the end of said tubular member cut at an angle thus preventing downward movement of said support member relative to said tubular member comprising:

(1) a pair of fiat rigid members each having an opening therein of sufiicient size to slide on said support member but of insufficient size to slide over said tubular member,

(2) a flat resilient member separating said pair of rigid members.

2. A lantern stand comprising:

(a) a stake to be driven partially into the ground,

(b) a tubular member adapted to slide over said stake to the extent said stake protrudes above ground; the end of said tubular member remote from the ground being cut at an angle to the axis of said tubular member,

(c) a support member:

( 1) slidably mounted within said tubular member,

(2) having a curved portion adjacent one end thereof,

(3) hook means secured to said curved portion for holding a lantern handle,

((1) a locking means slidably mounted on said support member for engaging the end of said tubular member cut at an angle thus preventing downward movement of said support member relative to said tubular member comprising:

(1) a pair of flat rigid members each having an opening therein of sufiicient size to slide on said support member but of insufiicient size to slide over said tubular member,

(2) a flat resilient member separating said pair of rigid members.

3. A lantern stand comprising:

(a) a stake to be driven partially into the ground.

(b) a cylindrical tubular member adapted to slide over said stake to the extent said stake protrudes above ground; the end of said cylindrical tubular member remote from the ground being cut at an angle to the axis of said cylindrical tubular member,

(c) a cylindrical support member slidably mounted within said cylindrical tubular member,

(d) a locking means slidably mounted on said support member for engaging the end of said tubular member cut at an angle thus preventing downward movement of said support member relative to said tubular member comprising:

(1) a pair of metal washers each having an inside diameter greater than the outside diameter i of said support member but less than the outside diameter of said tubular member,

(2) a flat resilient washer separating said pair of metal washers.

4. A lantern stand comprising:

(a) a stake to be driven partially into the ground,

(b) a cylindrical tubular member adapted to slide over said stake to the extent said stake protrudes above ground; the end of said cylindrical tubular member remote from the ground being cut at an angle to the axis of said cylindrical tubular member,

(c) a cylindrical support member:

(1) slidably mounted within said tubular member,

(2) having a curved portion adjacent one end thereof,

(3) book means secured to said curved portion for holding a lantern handle,

(d) a locking means slidably mounted on said support member for engaging the end of said tubular member cut at an angle thus preventing downward movement of said support member relative to said tubular member comprising:

(l) a pair of metal washers each'having an inside diameter greater than the outside diameter of said support member but less than the outside diameter of said tubular member,

(2) a fiat resilient washer separating said pair of metal washers.

5. In a tubular support device having one cylindrical member slidably supported within a supporting cylindrical member and having the supporting cylindrical member cut at one end at an angle to its axis, a locking means slidably mounted on said one cylindrical member for engaging the end of said supporting cylindrical member at the end thereof cut at an angle to prevent movement of said one cylindrical member toward said supporting cylindrical member, said locking means comprising:

(1) a pair of fiat rigid members each having an opening therein of sufiicient size to slide on said one cylindrical member but of insufiicient size to slide over said supporting cylindrical member,

(2) a fiat resilient member separating said pair of rigid members.

6. In a tubular support device having one cylindrical member slidably supported within a supporting cylindrical member and having the supporting cylindrical member cut at one end at an angle to its axis, a locking means slidably mounted on said one cylindrical member for engaging the end of said supporting cylindrical member at the end thereof cut at an angle to prevent movement of said one cylindrical member toward said supporting cylindrical member, said locking means comprising:

( 1) a pair of metal Washers each having an inside diameter greater than the outside diameter of said one cylindrical member but less than the outside diameter of said supporting cylindrical member,

(2) a fiat resilient washer separating said pair of metal washers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNlTED STATES PATENTS 307,761 .11/84 Harger 248--ll3 X 392,798 11/38 Harkom 240-l05 X 470,854 3/92 Abbott 240- X 1,002,260 9/11 Golden 248156 X 1,175,352 3/16 Hand 248-161 X 2,535,722 12/50 Cooke 248-156 X 3,065,982 11/62 Dodd 248-410 X FOREIGN PATENTS 530,505 12/40 Great Britain.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A LANTERN STAND COMPRISING: (A) A STAKE TO BE DRIVEN PARTIALLY INTO THE GROUND, (B) A TUBULAR MEMBER ADAPTED TO SLIDE OVER SAID STAKE TO THE EXTENT SAID STAKE PROTRUDES ABOVE GROUND; THE END OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER REMOTE FROM THE GROUND BEING CUT AT AN ANGLE TO THE AXIS OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, (C) A SUPPORT MEMBER SLIDABLY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, (D) A LOCKING MEANS SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT MEMBER FOR ENGAGING THE END OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER CUT AT AN ANGLE THUS PREVENTING DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID SUPPORT MEMBER RELATIVE TO SAID TUBULAR MEMBER COMPRISING: (1) A PAIR OF FLAT RIGID MEMBERS EACH HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN OF SUFFICIENT SIZE TO SLIDE ON SAID SUPPORT MEMBER BUT OF INSUFFICIENT SIZE TO SLIDE OVER SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, (2) A FLAT RESILIENT MEMBER SEPARATING SAID PAIR OF RIGID MEMBERS. 